WealthShield Partners LLC Buys New Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

WealthShield Partners LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 13,549 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,712,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ GILD opened at $146.12 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $131.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.59. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.46 and a 12 month high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $181.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.73 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is -122.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on GILD shares. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.04.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total transaction of $3,853,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,273,727.76. This trade represents a 19.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 592,133 shares in the company, valued at $77,160,851.23. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 87,000 shares of company stock worth $11,562,960 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.